It’s like “Lost” in a prep school. So why isn’t it a TV series yet?

For this week’s “Adapt This” column, I suggested a book that I was almost positive I’d already recommended for adaptation ages ago, but somehow overlooked. Morning Glories is one of my favorite comics being published right now (right up there with Locke & Key and Fables), and it’s the sort of series I’d recommend to anyone who wants to know what’s so great about comics.

The series’ creators, Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma, have done a great job of making the story feel like a clever television series, so it’s a little surprising that we haven’t heard about it being optioned yet. I think that’s why I overlooked it in my column until now — in the back of my mind, I just assumed that it had been snatched up by a network already.

Here’s an excerpt from my column:

Morning Glories writer Nick Spencer famously pitched this critically praised comic as a mash-up of the television series “Lost” and the comic book series Runaways, about a group of kids who discover that their parents were supervillains. While it certainly has that “Lost” vibe, I’d take it a step further and say that it also clearly draws from the best high-school dramas, blending all of the mystery and strange phenomena with a classic angsty-teen vibe a la “The Breakfast Club” or “My So-Called Life.”

An adaptation of Morning Glories should definitely go the small-screen route rather than a standalone movie, as Spencer has crafted a wonderfully paced story that has all the right beats for a TV series and is filled with brilliant, episode-ending cliffhangers. It’s actually a bit surprising that we’ve heard so little about potential adaptations of the series, as it seems perfectly structured for television.

Bio

Rick Marshall is a professional geek, full-time journalist, occasional photographer, indentured servant to incestuous cats, unwilling party host, speedy talker, obsessive story collector, and most importantly, a dad. This is his personal blog.